Remains

all women have secrets --

little treasures hidden in boxes

decorated with dream-silk

and - perhaps - a ribbon of guilt

 

what we have become

is not always who we are,

and even eyes steeped in starlight

can lie when necessity demands

 

all women have secrets --

mine are scattered somewhere

along the shores of Mar del Plata,

given to the west wind of the Mohave,

lost along the sea cliffs of Kalaupapa

 

and there they will remain,

beyond the impressions I have made

with sensible feet and idealist hands

Reviews

[aria]

My favorite stanza:

what we have become
is not always who we are,
and even eyes steeped in starlight
can lie when necessity demands

Yes. This is very true. For me, it makes even thinking about dating seem almost impossible. I feel so protected now that I am alone and unexposed. The problem is that protected isn't the same as content, warm, happy and loved. . . .

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

So true...thank you.

[Joyce S. Greene]

A beautifully crafted poem, Sarah. Our secrets can be treasures, brought out to be savored at odd moments. I liked every verse but the poetry of these lines is especially appealing;

all women have secrets --
mine are scattered somewhere
along the shores of Mar del Plata,
given to the west wind of the Mohave,
lost along the sea cliffs of Kalaupapa

Thie poem is a treat to read!

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much...humbled.

[J. J. Nightingale]

The little secrets we put away and bind so beautifully with ribbon & lace
tend to grow inside our hearts .. and cause our eyes to change ..

Maybe no one will ever know where and how we've been
But WE know .. and THAT little sin or mistake
Follows & changes us forever ..

Forgive my silly thoughts .. this is good, as usual !!

Jazzy

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

I'm truly glad you liked this one, my friend!

[J. J. Nightingale]

:)............................................ J.

[David Scott]

Well, I'm not a woman, but I understand this.
Maybe men have tool boxes...? Locked and oiled, fastened to the walls or standing on locked casters, they keep treasured tools for "fixing" life's many problems.
How refreshing would the world be if we all learned to cast these secrets away and accept each other as we learn to accept ourselves?
You write a lesson in mental health!
Lovely poetry as well.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you, David...I took the woman's perspective because...well, I am one ;) Seriously, though, i have no doubt that we all have secrets, despite our sex.

[David Scott]

Good to know... I never had a doubt. ;)

[Horizon K.]

Such a contemplative piece, what secrets are and how we keep or don't keep them, how we lie or shroud ourselves in other shades to protect them. Aside from a very few that I may never tell a soul, i scatter my secrets too.. I give different pieces to different friends, so no one knows them all, and yet they are not kept... Anyway, gorgeous... Makes me wonder how this poem would read, if written by a man...

[Mark Heathcote]

The boxes in men are internalized and become the poisonous roots that stretch from tip to bough to opening new buds.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, guys!

[Rocans]

Secrets are like giant worms, they eat one from the inside out. One keeps secrets mainly to protect oneself from the chastisement they think would follow if revealed. Good write with good metaphors, everyone has secrets I guess. It is not possible to walk away from a secret, unless it is emancipated from the slavery of one's mind.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

I think that part of this write is the emancipation...we must not hold on to things, sometimes we just have to scatter them to the wind... Thank you!

[Ed Hart]

ah lady, you are one of the some that passed so far astern in time and space that i can but wave and smile

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Thank you so much, Ed :)

[Antonio Valentino]

its not the secrets we should worry about, its the revelations..

i always fall in love with puzzles..

finding the pieces that fit together


each poem i read of your's is better than the last

:)

[MsJewel]

..and it is those secrets that we hold close, keep safe, carefully hidden in dream silk boxes...
until we allow one to untie that silk ribbon, release all those secrets and we live happily ever after - dreams fulfilled. - A fairytale - perhaps. :) Julie

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Fairytale indeed... Thank you, Julie!